Activist says Adelanto is rushing prison approval

Saturday

Nov 8, 2014 at 6:36 PMNov 8, 2014 at 6:42 PM

Staff Reporter

ADELANTO — Advocacy groups from across the state are organizing to oppose a prison plan recently approved by the Adelanto Planning Commission that would allow for an overflow population of Los Angeles County inmates, believing the city is “rushing” the deal before the new city council is seated in December.The development agreement for a 3,264-bed prison is set to go before the Adelanto City Council for a vote on Nov. 19 — three weeks before Adelanto’s newly elected mayor and two new council members are expected to take their seats on the dais.“The rate of how fast they’re trying to push this through is really terrible,” said Victoria Mena, a former Adelanto resident and current graduate student at the University of Washington studying public administration. “This is going to have a huge impact on the city on so many levels. And that these new people don’t have a say in it and they don’t take office until December, there is just so much wrong with this.”Mena leads the group called Defund Detention and said activists across the country have their eyes on the for-profit prison plan. She said she believes voters in California are opposed to the construction of more jails and showed this with the passage of Proposition 47, a new law that would reduce non-serious property and drug crimes from a felony to a misdemeanor in order to reduce jail crowding.“Voters in the state of California said they want to reduce the prison population by approving Proposition 47,” Mena said. “The city voted in a new mayor that is against the prison. Now we’re seeing that immediately following the election, that under the radar, they’re pushing this through. It’s very concerning.”Current Adelanto Mayor Cari Thomas adamantly denied the allegations brought forward by Mena, stating that she does not set the council agendas. The agendas are brought forward by city staff, she said.“I have nothing to do with the agenda,” Thomas said. “To say it is a political move is untrue and unfounded. It’s been in the works for months and months. It was a timing issue with waiting for Los Angeles County and for them to indicate whether or not they’re interested. This has all been through the developer, not us.”Orange County developer Buck Johns and the founder of Corrections Corporation of America, Doctor Crants, first presented their plan to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in May. The Los Angeles Board has yet to take any formal action to indicate they are considering the proposal, according to the press deputy for Fourth District Supervisor Don Knabe.Rich Kerr, Adelanto’s new mayor, said he would be opposed to the prison deal because he doesn’t believe it’s what the residents of Adelanto want. “It’s a lame-duck council and they should not be allowed to do anything that is going to affect our city until the new council sets,” Kerr said on Saturday. “I’m opposed to all prisons and new prisons in Adelanto. The people have spoken and they said they don’t want any more.”However, he said he is “not opposed” to people bringing forward new proposals in general.“If it looks good to me, I say we go to the people on it,” Kerr said. “Right now people are telling me ‘no,’ so my vote has to be ‘no.’ ”The Adelanto Planning Commission approved Johns’ and Crants’ agreement on Tuesday while at the same time voting down a new separate proposal brought forward by the for-profit prison company Geo Group Inc. to construct a 1,000-bed jail at the northwest corner of Koala Road and Holly Road. That plan was rejected because of its location and the company’s history of releasing inmates right out of the gate in Adelanto, Chair of the Planning Commission Chris Waggener said.The groups who plan to organize at upcoming council meetings on Nov. 12 and 19 are: Californians United for a Responsible Budget, California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance, Friends of Adelanto Detainees, the American Civil Liberties Union and RAIZ, among others.Brooke Self may be reached at 760-951-6232 or BSelf@VVDailyPress.com. You can also follow her on Twitter at @BrookeSelf or @DPEduNews.

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